Welcome! I’m Jim Gressinger. I’m pleased to be your guide to this land so rich in Old West history and Spanish, Mexican, and Native American cultural heritage. You are now among our half million annual visitors.

Southern Arizona Guide is very different from Chamber of Commerce and Visitor & Convention Bureau guides. For example, editorially we only recommend those attractions, activities, restaurants, and places of lodging that we wholeheartedly recommend to our friends and family. Similarly, we only accept advertising from establishments that meet this same discriminating criteria.

Using the Hot Spots Maps

Place your cursor over any hotspot. Then click on the option in the pop-up balloon.
If you don't find what you're looking for on the maps, just use the Main Menu around the banner or the Search By Interest in the right sidebar.

Destinations & Attractions

Honest Reviews

Make informed dining & lodging decisions based on our discriminating Dining & Lodging Reviews. With over 700 restaurants in the area, you will need to know where the locals eat and what to expect in the way of ambience, expense and quality of fare.
Be sure to visit our Budget Dining page for good food on a budget.

Easy-To-Use Maps

View over 50 Original Videos. Here you will meet some of the most interesting and knowledgeable people in Southern Arizona, such as:
Anita Badertscher, a U.S. National Park Ranger who gives you a behind the scenes tour of the historically important Tumacácori Mission.

Joy Timbers, owner of the beautiful & historic Calumet & Arizona Guest House in Bisbee and a fountain of knowledge about this fascinating historic city.

Dr. Jay, whose Walking Tour will take you back in time to the rough & ready mining town of 1880’s Tombstone.

Virgil Earp, whose 1881 interview takes place just minutes before he leaves to disarm the Clantons & McLaurys near the OK Corral.

Tom McLaury, who explains how the Earps have enticed his law-abiding ‘Cowboys’ into a gunfight just moments before Doc Holliday sends him to the Promised Land.

A Spanish soldado stationed at the Tucson Presidio in 1776 who describes his soldier’s life on the frontier of New Spain and complains that the Apaches don’t fight fair.

Dan Granger, a naturalist, who introduces you to the magnificent Sabino Canyon, with all its hiking trails, rugged beauty, and unique wildlife.

Random Thoughts

FAMILY FUN TIME Enjoy the Science Center every day of the week, a planetarium show or a laser music show. The Flandrau Science Center & Planetarium on the UofA campus explores the universe from all perspectives, education for youth and adults. Changing exhibits focus on biology, energy, optics and more, weaving in ground-breaking UA research and revealing the world of science careers for budding scientists. At Flandrau you can explore the marvels of our universe — from the depths of the ocean to the farthest reaches of space, and everything in between. See one of the amazing FullDome planetarium shows in …Continue reading